President Trump addresses nation after mass shooting at Florida SchoolWhite House

For more than a year, the women have been fanning out in the community in a low-cost, highly personal grass-roots effort designed to teach women about the importance of breast health. So far, in 10 Saturday outings, the teams have knocked on more than a thousand doors and made presentations to more than 300 women.

"This is to help women take control of their own health, to get to know their bodies," says Bobby Washington, a Bayview resident and volunteer in the project. "They can learn not to be afraid of their bodies."

On Saturday's foray, Washington totes the clipboard and an encyclopedic knowledge of her neighborhood. Her partner, Lana Rudyak, 24, who will graduate in two months from the nursing program at City College of San Francisco, carries a plastic bag filled with brochures and resource guides as well as a plastic model of a breast.

Related Stories

Jeanme Hamilton, 33, a mother of three and a body shop appraiser, graciously escorts the volunteers into her home. For about 15 minutes, the three discuss proper techniques for self-exams, Rudyak demonstrating

"light, deep and deeper" pressure methods on the model. They instruct Hamilton to be alert for dimpling, swellings, discharges and changes.

"I'm really glad this is happening," Hamilton says after the presentation. "Somebody needs to educate women. Unfortunately, there isn't a lot of information available out there."

"to equalize health care for poor people," a way to help the disadvantaged who are unable to navigate the health care system.

"In the projects so many people have so many socioeconomic problems - they have four or five kids, one or two of them is dropping out, one or two is a juvenile delinquent, one might be having a baby," says Coleman, 77. "That is very distracting. It is very easy for a mother to forget about herself.

"This simple program . . . helps make people accept responsibility for themselves, (it) makes women aware they may have cancer and how to do something about it."

Studies nationally have shown that black women have a slightly lower chance than white women of developing breast cancer, but their mortality rate is 5 percent higher, in part because black women fail to obtain medical treatment in the early stages of the disease.

There were twice as many breast cancer cases among black women younger than 50 in the Bayview as there were in the rest of the Bay Area, city health statistics show. Home to a population of 28,000 - 60 percent African American - the neighborhood has the highest concentration of polluting industries in The City.

"It is unconscionable that there is a pocket within spitting distance, as they say in Mississippi, where there is low quality of health and life," responded Supervisor Amos Brown. "That should not be in the city of St. Francis."

Registered nurse Kathleen Summers, guardian angel of the breast cancer project, pleaded for municipal funds, saying its future might be in jeopardy. The program has been financed with a grant of $7,500, but the kitty is running short.

"This effort has taken place with very little fanfare," said Summers, a Vietnam veteran and nursing instructor at City College who has donated countless hours to the project, inspiring many of her students to participate.

"We simply have done the work that has to be done."

The panel of city officials promised to try to find public financing.

"I will personally . . . start to ask how we can get the money," pledged Supervisor Sue Bierman. "We ought to start the same program with prostate cancer."

On Saturday, marking the final weekend of Breast Cancer Awareness Month, five teams of volunteers knocked on 101 doors. There was no response at 61 residences, two others had no female occupants - and seven women flatly said they were not interested - but presentations were made to 31 others.

"This is really needed in this community," says volunteer Latanya Harris, 40, who is studying to be a substance abuse counselor. "I'm part of this because I had a benign lump in 1993 and I would have wanted people to give me help like this. A lot of people here don't even know how to do a breast exam."

Like the other outreach workers Saturday, Harris earned the princely sum of $24 for her hours of outreach.